Brazilian leader suggests NGOs are setting Amazon fires

Brazil’s official monitoring agency has reported a sharp increase in Amazon wildfires this year.

And President Jair Bolsonaro has suggested, without citing evidence, that non-governmental organisations could be setting them to make him look bad.

Brazil’s National Institute for Space Research, a federal agency monitoring deforestation and wildfires, said the country has seen a record number of wildfires this year, counting 74,155 as of Tuesday, an 84% increase compared to the same period last year.

Mr Bolsonaro took office on January 1.

“Maybe — I am not affirming it — these (NGO people) are carrying out some criminal actions to draw attention against me, against the government of Brazil,” Mr Bolsonaro said in a video posted on his Facebook account.

“This is the war we are facing.”

When asked by reporters if he had evidence, the president did not provide any.

The states that have been most affected this year are Mato Grosso, Para and Amazonas — all in the Amazon region — accounting for 41.7% of all fires.

Mr Bolsonaro, who once threatened to leave the Paris climate accord, has repeatedly attacked environmental non-profits, seen as obstacles in his quest to develop the country’s full economic potential, including in protected areas.

Mr Bolsonaro and Environment Minister Ricardo Salles are both close to the powerful rural caucus in Congress and have been urging more development and economic opportunities in the Amazon region, which they consider overly protected by current legislation.

Some NGOs, environmentalists and academics have been blaming the administration’s pro-development policies for a sharp increase in Amazon deforestation shown in the latest data from the space research institute.

The government is also facing international pressure to protect the vast rainforest from illegal logging or mining activities.

French and German leaders have also threatened not to ratify a trade deal between the European Union and Mercosur countries to pressure Brazil into complying with its environmental pledges within the Paris Climate Agreement.